Sad to be leaving Canada, it has been my home for nearly three months. During this time I have become proficient in ordering ‘steeped tea double milk’ from Tim Hortons, navigated the street cars of Toronto, roasted wieners on a stick over a fire at Goldstream Park in the rain. I’ve had conversations with people who genuinely end every sentence with ‘eh!’, mastered the ability to open bear proof garbage bins, watched a moose swim in Nova Scotia, met a real life mountie and seen bears in the wild. I’ve climbed mountains and walked in the the prairies. Travelled from coast to coast and even learned a few Canadian pop songs (one of which I later discover has made it across the Atlantic and it makes me smile).
Fostering cultural stereotypes, Regina RCMP (Louise Kenward, 2014)
I have met long lost relatives who I didn’t even know existed before I started to plan my journey round the world. I have been shown round by locals, met farmers and given detailed tours of a grain elevator. I’ve been shown tractors and met descendants of original pioneers. I have met up again with Annie (Lady) Brassey who accompanied me from Toronto (in spirit at least) and showed me around at Niagara Falls. I have learned that biscuits are scones and drunk maple tea. I’ve slept in a shed, marketed as ‘wilderness hostel’ and slept in a hostel with the most stunning views, of humming birds at the windows and a UNESCO listed ‘biosphere’ lake in the distance. I’ve made many friends and met new family. I have plans to meet many again in the future (and several I have already seen).
selfie attempt #12 and we finally get us and the lighthouse in…meet my ‘new’ cousin Jo, Vancouver Island (Louise Kenward, 2014)
I have utilised the full spectrum of my limited wardrobe in spanning all seasons during this time. Canada is a land of contrasts, of scenery, of climate, of scale. It is a country with at least two very good osteopaths.
I will miss Canada, as I have each and every country I have visited. Each one being my home, however briefly, and I have embraced them as such in the time limit I had. I hope to come back, there is much more to see.
Tofino sunset, Louise Kenward 2014